2018, A Hard Year?

What a year! After GoPro’s announcement of leaving drone business, Hobbico Inc. as gone through the process of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection like some years ago mythical brand Kodak did. A a result of Chapter 11 protection, 300 employees located in Champaign, Illinois, could leave the company.

Hobbico Bankruptcy

Which are the facts that led Hobbico to this situation? mostly to sales decline over last year as well as heavy financial debt. Between $10.0 million and $50.0 million worth of assets are owned as part of Hoobico’s debt, with liabilities of between $100.0 million and $500.0 million–all aggravated due to Hobbico’s sales decline. It also cited, “an increasingly competitive industry, market headwinds and a series of one-off events with key suppliers.”

The company informed employees that if Hobbico layoffs in 2018 were to occur, they would likely start in April.

Declining Sales Led to Closure & Layoffs at Hobbico Warehouse in Reno Hobbico’s layoffs in 2017, prior to the current cuts, included a seven percent reduction of its workforce at its 200,000-square-foot Reno, Nevada facility; it had 650 employees at the time. According to another business, the layoffs in Reno, as well as additional ones in Champaign, were due to declining sales, the loss of two major suppliers, and an ongoing lawsuit with Traxxas, L.P., one of Hobbico’s vendors.

But now, that same warehouse appears to be shutting down entirely. Hobbico’s warehouse closing was, interestingly, not announced by the company itself. Instead, the information comes from the Facebook page of accessories manufacturer Moore’s Ideal Products, LLC, which posted well wishes to those that had lost their jobs as a result of the facility’s closure.

Just as the closure itself wasn’t announced, there has been no word of the actual number of employees that would be laid off as a result.

U.S. Drone Industry Challenges Resulted in Layoffs, Closure & Bankruptcy One product that was supposed to provide income growth was drones, which are currently riding a wave of popularity as their affordability improves. However, manufacturers have struggled with production, with many companies downsizing their operations.

However, from a pure consumer point of view, every cloud has its lining and this could be an opportunity to buy Hobbico drones since, most surely, will experience rebates and price cuts.

Models Manufactured

Currently, Hobbico manufactures 2 models, being the Flitt one of the most appreciated in its class: selfie drones.